Chelsea
boss Jose Mourinho was upset at the decision to send off Branislav Ivanovic
in the 1-1 draw at Manchester United.
The visitors looked set for victory after Didier Drogba's headed opener, but
their manager could not hide his disgust on the touchline when Robin van
Persie slammed in the injury-time equaliser from a free-kick awarded after
Ivanovic was shown a second yellow card for fouling Angel Di Maria.
It preserved Chelsea's unbeaten run this season and they remain four points
ahead of second-placed Southampton.
But the late booking from referee Phil Dowd as well as failing to hand
Chelsea a penalty in the first half for a clumsy challenge by Chris Smalling
was tough to take for Mourinho and he told Sky Sports: "The red card, I was
seeing it coming. If I have to speak about the second yellow I have to speak
about lots of things.
"The penalty that Ivanovic should have been given [after wrestling with
Smalling], the accumulation of yellow cards, the throw-ins. I know I speak
always with my heart and get in trouble."
Despite conceding the late goal, Mourinho was very satisfied with his team's
performance, considering the squad was without injured strikers Diego Costa
and Loic Remy.
The Portuguese coach added: "My team played a fantastic game, it's not easy
to play here against Manchester United, a Manchester United that tried to
play very compact and hit us on the counter attack.
"We were fantastic, especially in the second half. It was a top-class
performance, good control, we could score a couple more goals.
"The result is not the one we wanted, we came to win but the performance is
fantastic. The result, not so, but acceptable."
With Drogba notching his first goal in the English top flight since March
2012, Mourinho said: "He has scored so much. He scored a beautiful goal, he
could have scored in the first half.
"I am so happy with his performance, my team is good and it's very difficult
to speak about [individual] players."
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